Matthew Cowin
Staff Writer
Prof. Jim Whiteside is a new creative writing professor and head of the creative writing Department at the University of the South. He received his B.A. from Vanderbilt University and M.F.A. from The University of North Carolina, Greensboro. His remarkable works of poetry, Writing your name on the Glass being arguably the most famous, have made him the recipient of several scholarships and awards. His career has led him to tour a variety of places in the United States and around the world, each unique to himself and his craft. Whiteside details the influence his passions and travels have had to a happy and rewarding career in leadership and education.
Stanford jumpstart to career
After obtaining his M.F.A., Whiteside was awarded the prestigious Wallace-Stegner fellowship from Stanford University, where he held opportunities for independent poetry study and research. Stanford additionally provided an extensive faculty, of which poets such as Ivan Boland and Louise Glück served as lasting mentors to his early career. The mentorship became centered around educating aspiring writers in itself, which, including his daily work, made Stanford a jumpstart to his later career as a poet and educator. Whiteside remarked when speaking to The Purple, “Poetry is a long game; a writing muscle develops over time.” With many more travels and works to follow, Whiteside’s jumpstart was only a warm-up in his long game.
Travel/lived experiences
After a successful stint at Stanford, Whiteside began extensive travel for additional poetry opportunities, sparking a variety of unique residencies. He has lived in the Bay Area, Paris, Charlotte, and most recently, Brooklyn before coming to Sewanee. Whiteside appreciates this on the road lifestyle, noting, “Every place has its own beauty. Craft and travel are enjoyable.”
He most thoroughly credits the thriving poetry scene in New York to illustrate the importance of a professional community. “There are so many other poets in a similar stage of career as myself.” Frequent engagement with poets in his own neighborhood formed a cornerstone for his own community. Brooklyn, arguably the most of any previous residence, highlights the effect of interacting with those who have similar interests, especially to invoke active participation. The poet’s large share of content in Brooklyn is contested only by “aggressive pigeons in NYC…Sewanee has no pigeons.”
Sewanee – a bit like coming home
Whiteside recently moved from Brooklyn to Sewanee, which he describes as “a bit like coming home,” per his original hometown of Cookeville, Ten.. A southerner himself, his familiarity with the landscape and people gives him an edge in many of his own poems. While working on his new manuscript, Whiteside concentrates on the intersection of queer identity with southern geography. He mentioned, “LGBT narratives were mostly set in California, New York, and other places.” The less common southern geography is intended to “give stories more traction.”
In addition to domestic roots, Whiteside also recalls there many Sewanee alumni from his high school. To him, the job offer was an “easy choice.” He asserted, “Who wouldn’t want to teach poetry on a mountain?”
Remarks on Sewanee Creative Writing Dep’t
As the head of the department, Whiteside is tasked with approaching poetry from a “craft perspective.” He expresses excitement to propel the subject and department of creative writing. “It’s a fairly new major for students,” he said. “The department seems motivated to hire new members.”
The department’s main recognition had been the Sewanee Writers Conference. According to Whiteside, it “brings people from other parts of the country…a foundational tradition that allows for building for the future.”
Whiteside also mentions growing interest from students as well as faculty “Classes are pretty full, one has only first-year students,” he said. Broad modern turnout in addition to cherished tradition allows for “an exciting time for creative writing on campus.” When speaking about the department’s current goals, Whiteside said, “[They entail] more established reading times and real desire for writing on campus.”
The expansive community and curriculum aims to have students’ minds and experience flourish. To Whiteside, the growth, goals, and traditions make creative writing more than any department: “Sewanee sends writers to do great things in the world.”
Advice for Sewanee and college students in general
As for himself, Whiteside said, “I’m happy.” Throughout his life and works, he promotes his general philosophy to “pursue interests and passions with enthusiasm and follow good energy.” Strongly resonant in the Mountain’s thriving creative writing department and his own travel experiences, the intersection of community and passion is imminent to a good life. “The world has a way of providing a full and beautiful life of what you love…college is one of few times in your life to fixate your interests with others, figuring out what makes you tick.”
Having lived his younger days embellished by poetry and the comradery it provides, Whiteside takes his new position head on, aiming to inspire the same mantra in others in his return home to Tennessee.